Best of Personal Finance Roundup: What the iPad Is and Is Not

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best of Personal Finance roundup. Today, we go over what you can expect with a new Apple iPad, how to use up the leftover juice from your canned fruit, and twelve ways to get more reading done!

Top 5 Articles

What the iPad Is and Is Not — Is it a bird? How ‘bout a plane? Turns out, it’s neither. (But it’s still pretty cool, and this article may help you decide if it’s worth putting down the cash to own it.) Consumerism Commentary

Yes, You Can Haggle at Macy’s — Before you think that any store is above negotiating on price, think again. This writer saved $730 in a week of bargaining. Smart Spending Blog

Winter Detox: 12 Easy DIY Air Fresheners — Perhaps you’ve decided to kick the commercial chemical air freshener habit with some natural remedies to freshen the air? This list is perfectly simple, affordable, and ready to go straight from your pantry! TipNut

3 Ways to Use “Juice” from Canned Fruit —What will you do with all that extra juice from the can of peaches you ate today? Turns out, there are clever ways to use it up (although I’d be less inclined to do with this fruit in extra heavy syrup). Frugal Upstate

Twelve Tips for Reading More — My favorite tip on this list is tip #1: Quit reading. It turns out that you don’t have to finish every crappy book you’ve ever started. See all the tips for the best book advice you’ll ever read. The Happiness Project

Other Essential Reading

Defrag Your Mind in Five Steps — You do it to your computer (or if you’re not, you should), why not with your brain? This clever comparison of decluttering your mind vs. how you defrag your PC is powerful and effective! Brilliantly Better via LifeHacker

7 Things to Do Before You Move In — So, you’ve found the perfect place, the lease is signed, and you’re ready to move in. Right? Not before you change out the toilet seat (seriously). Apartment Therapy

The Difference Between 0% Purchase and 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards — Listen up! There is a huge difference between these two. Read on if you need a lesson in how they both work, and decide if either is the right choice for you. MoneyNing

The 10 Worst Energy Zappers and How to Beat Them — We all figured that not getting enough sleep was a sure-fire way to come up short on energy, but toxic people? That’s one we hadn’t considered. Read the other 8 here in this must-see list! Dumb Little Man

New FHA Rules Affect Consumers, Housing Market, and Economy — New changes in 2010 will most likely affect you (even if you don’t own a home). Get the details on new rules, and see how they may be felt throughout the entire economy. Credit Karma